Alabama Nesties
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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
advice for shopping for a house
Hello ladies,
This is my first time posting, so please keep any mean, rude or uncalled for comments to yourself 
My husband and I have just started the house buying process and I was wondering if anyone had any good advice for shopping for a new home. I have read all the articles and talked to all the people, but I would like some "real" advice and opinions.
Thanks!
Re: advice for shopping for a house
can't offer any advice expect make a list of the things you like and want in a home..determine which of those are most important to you and don't settle for something you're not sure about.
Just because we're part of the nest boards doesn't mean we're mean and rude people here.
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I agree with all the pp's! Take your time and find the house that "fits" you! Right now is a great time to be purchasing. You have a lot more room for negotiations
Like the pp's said also....just because we are a board on the nest does not mean that we are like the other boards! We have a really great group of ladies from all over the state. Feel free to come over and post anytime
Yes, please dont' be leery of us, we are a friendly group, but we have all had experiences with "other" boards. You're welcome any time.
My husband and I are in the process of buying another home too. One thing I can tell you...the first time you look at a house you get that "AH" factor and don't see a lot of flaws. Be sure to go back and think things through from a practical standpoint: Will our furniture fit, and other similar questions. Is the floorplan something we like? One house we especially loved was great the first time in and we were READY to buy it...second time I found that the bathtub was really hard to get in and out of, the furniture we own will not fit and there was a lot of wasted space, and I still wanted a split floorplan...building a fence would have been over 10,000. So second time we checked it out it was a definite NO. Take your time and see it more than once.
My first piece of advice would be to determine what you can afford per month, and then ask your realtor to back into the mortage amount. That way you will not be tempted to push your budget.
Second, LOCATION IS KEY! There was one home that I was just in love with, but the location was not the best. There were rental homes all throughout the neighborhood...including right next door and across the street. I didn't realize that having rental homes so close by could bring down the value of my home when it comes to resale. The lot is what is going to increase in value. You can change a house, but you can't change where it is.
Third, when we started looking for our new home I thought I could have everything I wanted and that is SO not how it happened. Be open minded and like a previous post said, prioritize what you want and need and be willing to give some things up. I wanted something move in ready, and the house that we ended up buying has several projects to do. A fresh coat of paint made all the difference in the world, and we have enjoyed doing these projects together and making our home "our own".
Hey! Welcome to the AL boards! Like everyone else has said, we are all a great group of nesties. We have gtgs all over the state and are so excited when new people join the board! But I completely understand where you are coming from because there are some nesties on some other boards who will get on their soapbox when you ask a simple question and make you feel "this big"
On to your question, I definitely agree with all the previous posters have said. Be sure you visit the house several times- it's a major decision and a huge purchase. Check all the light switches, faucets, under the sinks and rugs--- a lot of times an appraiser will do this too but in the end, it's your purchase. Also, be sure to take good notes and be sure you know details on each house especially if you look at several in one day in the same neighborhood. It's easy to get them mixed up. I would also be sure to spend some time each Sunday going to open houses- even in neighborhoods that may be above your price range but you can get an idea of what you like, don't like, floor plans, etc. DH and I are currently house hunting and have been for quite some time. We are very determined that this move will be it for a while so we are wanting to be sure we get exactly what we want. I think we are to a point now where we may just decide to build.
Hope this helps!
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First and foremost, I agree with everything ImMrsMoses said. We bought our house in April and this was the steps we went through:
1) Talked to a mortgage broker we trusted about how much house we could afford, played with the numbers for about a month before we were comfortable with a ballpark figure
2) Started doing our homework. We started playing on Remax by looking at the different areas of town and how much house we could buy with the figure we had already determined. We ended up choosing two areas in particular where we could get a good bit of house for our money and the areas were in a growth spurt because they have good schools.
3) Contacted a realtor and gave her our price range and areas of town we were interested in. We looked at a few houses she suggested before we really committed to what things were 'deal breakers' and which we could live without so we would know what was out there... which brings me to my next point.
4) After we saw in person the types of houses we could afford with our money, DH and I sat down and made a list of five things we wanted in a house. Two were deal breakers, and three were things that would be nice but we could live without. We gave our list to our REA.
5) After we did that, we found our house 2 weeks later, and nobody could have picked out a better house for the two of us. We LOVE it.
Also... welcome to the board! We're pretty low on the snark around here.
No need to be defensive!